The concept of mindfulness as a core technique in meditation has
been part of the Buddhist philosophy and practices since the early
traditions of the Satipatthana Sutta--The Discourse of the Establishment
of Mindfulness--almost 2,500 years ago. From those times the concept of
mindfulness was understood to yield a pure cognition that is free from
the discrimination that proceeds from deluded world and self views,
aspects that were concluded to lead us to suffering and
unsatisfactoriness as the prevailing human condition. By objectively
looking at all things as they are now, including ourselves, our thoughts
and feelings, and everything around us, the mind is predisposed and
opened up to impressions of truth without dependence or judgment.

The traditional Four Foundations of Mindfulness--mindfulness of the
body, of feelings, of consciousness, and of mental phenomena
(emotions)--are the bases for maintaining moment-by-moment mindfulness.
Recently, several modern psychotherapy approaches--in particular third
wave therapies--have recognized that many of the concepts of traditional
Buddhism apply to the development of cognitive schemas and the
dysfunction that it can cause in daily life and functioning. The concept
of mindfulness especially was embraced as behavior analysis,
experiential psychotherapies, and contextual philosophies came together
to refine current thoughts in cognitive behavioral approaches. Although
there is no conscious attempt to base mindfulness-based therapies on
Buddhism per se, the parallels in philosophy and principles were
harnessed in therapy to achieve the same basic goal, namely reduce
suffering and distress.

The so-called functional contextual therapies were derived from
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in the early 1990s and 2000s and the
concept of mindfulness was soon incorporated as it related to the
cognitive dissonance and avoidance that typically underlie core beliefs
and their problematic expression in post-childhood contexts. Therefore,
the philosophy of mindfulness in Buddhism as "the first step toward
emerging from such suffering is to accept the reality of it, not as a
philosophical concept or an article of faith, but as a fact of
existence" (Hart, 1987, p. 38) was enthusiastically adopted in
contextual therapies such as Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT),
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Mode Deactivation Therapy
(MDT) to defuse the attachment to negative beliefs, thoughts, and
feelings that are often responsible for internal distress and behavior
problems.

* Mode and schema theory

According to schema theory, all knowledge is organized into units,
or schemata, in which information is stored. The theory of cognitive
development was first introduced by Swiss developmental psychologist,
Jean Piaget, in the 1950s. Through childhood, a combination of genetic
makeup, biological maturation, and environmental experiences shape
cognitive processes through a progressive reorganization of beliefs and
views of the world around us. As such, the schema was defined as the
basic building block of intelligent behavior, a "cohesive,
repeatable action sequence possessing component actions that are tightly
interconnected and governed by a core meaning", and follows that
"every schema is thus coordinated with all the other schemata and
itself constitutes a totality with differentiated parts. Every act of
intelligence presupposes a system of mutual implications and
interconnected meanings" (Piaget, 1952, p. 7). Therefore, schemata
enables people to recognize and categorize an event whereby the most
appropriate decision is made how to act in anticipation or react in
response. Here, schemata is continuously reorganized, which gives an
individual the ability to interact safely and beneficially with their
environment.

By the time that Piaget's formal operation stage of cognitive
development is reached around age 11, cognitive modes and schemata are
already fairly enduring and stable as represented by personality traits.
As such, the perspective is often held that most personality development
occurs in childhood, and that personality is stable by the end of
adolescence. Adolescents and adults are therefore inclined to recognize
and acknowledge experiences that fit in with their cognitive modes while
reinterpreting contradictions as exceptions or distorting them to fit
their preconceived mental structures and beliefs. These processes can be
largely automatic and driven by preconceived ideas and prejudices that
are not a true reflection of reality. However, through repetitions of
distressful experiences, people--especially children--adjust their
beliefs as a coping and protective mechanism. As such, modes and
schemata represent broad and pervasive themes or patterns that are made
up of memories, feelings, sensations, and thoughts regarding oneself and
one's relationships with others, which is ultimately expressed as
behavior. It is when modes and schemata become overly protective if the
environment is wrongly or exaggeratedly perceived as threatening, that
behavior may become inappropriate and dysfunctional in the context that
it is expressed.

As such, maladaptive schema modes are inherently associated with a
failure to fulfill a child's development needs of safety,
predictability, love, affection, attention, acceptance and praise,
empathy, guidance and protection, and validation of feelings and needs.
Examples include schemata of abandonment/instability, mistrust/abuse,
emotional deprivation, and defectiveness/shame (Young, Klosko, &
Weishaar, 2003). Under "normal" or satisfactory conditions,
people assimilate (translate) incoming information into a meaning that
they recognize and understand, but are able to accommodate and adapt
their current knowledge and thought structures to reflect new
information. Hereby a stable understanding is formulated that is
appropriate and in harmony with their environment, and behavior is
suitable and functional to the context. However, as maturity progresses,
people find assimilation easier than accommodation. As such, events are
interpreted in ways to maintain the integrity of schemas rather than
resolving conflicts by changing or reformulating invalid schemas.
According to Lebow (2008), in quoting Beck (1996), "this means that
if a negative or dysfunctional schema begins to develop early in life,
the child continues to interpret his or her experiences in a distorted
way that may help to strengthen the schema" (p. 47). When a child
reaches the operational stages of development, they engage increasingly
with the outside world and early maladaptive and dysfunctional schemas
that may have been valid and adaptive in previous distressful
situations, are no longer helpful or appropriate. As such, these
dysfunctional schemas generate high levels of anxiety, fear, general
irrational thoughts and feelings, as well as aberrant behaviors. Hereby
a fear and experiential avoidance response is triggered when aspects of
distressful events are perceived or encountered. This system is
self-reinforcing and protected by the development of a conglomerate of
multiple clustered compound core beliefs--often interpreted as
burgeoning personality disorders, which tend to supersede and inhibit
more adaptive and functional interpretation systems.

In summary, schemata are enduring patterns of beliefs that
determine our view of ourselves, the world, and relationships with
others. Schemas may be valid in the context of past experiences as
unconscious experiential and cognitive structural processing components,
but tend to outlive their usefulness and appropriateness as a person
matures and situations change. Modes as clusters of schemas are the
moment-to-moment emotional states and coping responses that act as the
interface between cognitive schemata and behavior through thoughts and
feelings. Dysfunctional behavior is mostly associated with the
activation of maladaptive schema modes that cause fears, and other
unpleasant thoughts and feelings that are expressed in harmful behavior
when emotion regulation fails.

* The applied technology of mode deactivation therapy

As we have seen, mode and schema theory attaches value to past
experiences as the origin of the core beliefs and worldviews that
determine behavior. Experiences, beliefs, thoughts and feelings, and
behavior form a perpetual cycle that associates actual and anticipated
events with previous experiences and reinforces behavioral patterns into
durable traits. Nevertheless, with almost no exception, cognitive
behavioral therapies are not concerned with the origins of the belief
system, but focus instead on the present expression of those beliefs in
the context of current triggers with an objective to change behavior
through modification of cognitive content and processes whereby thinking
is realigned with reality (Longmore & Worrell, 2007).

The mode deactivation concept was developed by recognizing that
without tackling the underlying structures (maladaptive schema) that
consistently organize the patient's experience, through its core
belief system, the patient is likely to lapse back into unhelpful modes
of relating to others and attempting to meet their needs. Especially
with deeply troubled youth--the population that the MDT development
centered on at first--the nature and origins of their dysfunctional core
beliefs that are expressed through schema modes, have to be understood
in order to develop positive alternatives and realign negative beliefs.
In comparative studies, it was found that MDT consistently outperformed
CBT-based treatment-as-usual protocols in outcome effect durability by a
large margin at six months to two years follow-up (Apsche, Bass, Zeiter,
& Houston, 2009; Apsche, 2006; Apsche, Bass, & Siv, 2006a;
Apsche, Bass, & Siv, 2006b; Murphy & Siv, 2011). These results
support the conviction that it is beneficial to understand and validate
the origins of dysfunctional beliefs to produce a lasting positive
change. The principles of MDT that are aimed at disabling problematic
schemas while developing and reinforcing positive alternatives are as
follows.

Psychoanalysis. Besides the inherited makeup of personality, a
person's development is determined by events in early childhood.
Attitude, experience, and thought is largely influenced by unconscious
irrational drives. Problem areas are identified through a
psychoanalytic-oriented evaluation process.

Mindfulness. It involves to be fully present and aware in the
moment without judgment. Mindfulness encompasses the practice of a
variety of Buddhist inspired techniques to be aware of self and
one's environment in the present moment.

Acceptance. It means to accept self as who, what and where you are
in life, including accepting pain, fear and suffering; to accept that
the human condition is flawed, and that we all experience pain and
suffering as part of it.

Cognitive defusion. Defusion is defined as a reversal of the fusion
between instincts that accompanies maturity. The process of cognitive
defusion allows the thoughts that imprisoned the adolescent to occur
without resistance; to not experience experiential avoidance from
painful thoughts.

Emotional defusion. It is to identify the exact area in the body of
the pain and a complete description of the pain, numbness or
"nothingness". The adolescent describes where exactly he feels
emotional feelings that are attached to painful thoughts.

Balancing the functional alternative beliefs. The FABS are
developed and balanced by the process of Validate, Clarify, and Redirect
(VCR). Most likely the FAB will also be a functional alternative to
either a life interfering or treatment interfering belief.

As such, the MDT methodology is structured to provide an
understanding of the dysfunctional core beliefs and an awareness of its
presence and impact without judgment, which forms the starting point of
the process of realignment to positive and appropriate alternatives.

* Buddhist concepts and practices

The central concept of Buddhism is human suffering that is related
to clinging to objects that don't last or have a dynamic state,
such as feelings and the concept of the self. At this time, it has to be
noted that the scope of this discussion is confined to
"secular" Buddhism. Batchelor (2012) ascribed three
overlapping conditions to the secular concept. The first stands in
contrast to what is typically referred to as "religious",
which is usually described as a system of belief in and worship of a
superhuman controlling power. The second sense considers secular in its
Latin etymological roots--saeculum--which has everything to do with this
world and our personal, social, and environmental experience of it.
Thirdly, in the Western, historical-political sense, secular refers to a
separation of the power of the Church and State. Therefore, the current
discussion only deals with a form of "non-religious, this-worldly,
secularized Buddhism" (p. 87), which, according to Batchelor, may
not encompass the full intention and meaning of traditional Buddhism,
but "the only thing that matters is whether such a configuration of
[seemingly] disparate elements is of any help in getting you across the
[proverbial] water." (p. 106). I argue accordingly that the essence
and meaning of Buddhism, especially as embodied in selected elements and
concepts (e.g., mindfulness), is congruent with modern psychological
theory and beneficial to therapeutic systems upon which it was
conceptualized.

Modern science and Buddhist ideas about the human mind

Modern science in evolutionary psychology and psychodynamic and
cognitive behavioral theories support the Buddhist principles and
practices that pertain to the workings of the human mind. The basic
premise of Buddhism teachings is that suffering is an integral part of
the human condition. The basis of suffering--or dukkha--is attributed to
persistent experiences of unsatisfactoriness that is borne from our
intrinsic need to cling to and crave objects and states. Dukkha is
commonly explained according to three different categories:

* The obvious physical and mental suffering associated with all
human conditions between birth and death.

* The anxiety or stress of trying to hold onto things that are
constantly changing.

* A basic unsatisfactoriness that pervades all forms of existence,
because all forms of life are changing, impermanent and without any
inner core or substance.

However, we are perpetually disappointed when impermanence and our
lack of control become apparent, but it leaves us with an undercurrent
of yearning that is pervasive in all our decisions and behavior. In
clinging to things that do not last, we are evincing a kind of delusion.
These concepts are defined by the first two of the Four Noble Truths,
namely that ordinary life brings about suffering (dukkha), and that the
origin of suffering is attachment (samudaya). The third and fourth noble
truths address the remedy, namely that the cessation of suffering is
attainable (nirodha), and that there is an eightfold path to the
cessation of suffering (magga).

Our behavior is directly induced by our feelings that influence
perceptions and thoughts. The Buddha has reportedly said: "All that
we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything.
What we think, we become." Although this is often considered a free
or liberal translation of the concept illustrated in the sutta called
the Dvedhavitakka, or "Two Modes of Thinking", this sentiment
is central to the broad Buddhist theory. As such, according to Buddhist
thought, feelings are not reliable guides to reality and are therefore
not trustworthy. Therefore, it does not reflect a clear view of
ourselves or the world, which collectively distorts our relationship
with and understanding of the truth. This framework of the mind is
similar to the underpinning of Evolutionary Psychology's
explanation of how the natural selection process "designed"
our minds and how modern day cognitive behavioral therapies attempt to
realign our beliefs and thoughts with less distorted alternatives.
Feelings mediate our interaction with reality and motivate behavior in
direct and indirect ways. In fact, they are judgments that can be true
or false, about things that we perceive may impact us.

Here, the scientific evolutionary psychology concept of the modular
mind offers a theory why our motivation and behavior often seems
disconnected. According to Robert Kurzban (2010), we have a unitary
sense of self that acts like a broadcast media to benefit ourselves
only. As a result, we are "designed" to convince the world and
ourselves that we have coherent motivations, although it may not feel
"true" and supported by objective evidence, when in fact,
there does not seem to be one decision-maker in our self. Kenrick and
Griskevicius (2013) labeled the seven modular domains that drives our
primary--and mostly unconscious--motivation as self-protection, mate
attraction, mate retention, affiliation, kin care, status, and disease
avoidance. Although these drives may have ensured our survival and gene
transmission in primeval times, it suffices to say that different
priorities exist today to which our mind's "design" has
not adapted yet.

Therefore, this asynchronous cognitive process not only yields a
distorted perception of the existence of a unitary self, but also
distressful thoughts and feelings, and dysfunctional behavior. In this
sense, the Buddhist conceptualization of the mind and modern
psychological understanding of cognitive behavioral processes are almost
perfectly aligned.

Modern science and the logic behind Buddhist meditation practices

It is time to look at the Buddhist practices of meditation and
mindfulness in the context of modern psychology and cognitive behavioral
therapy. Generally speaking, Buddhist meditation practices represent the
culmination or practical aspect of the Fourth Noble Truth, as the
prescription of the way that lead to the cessation of suffering.
Similarly, in broad terms therapeutic practices aim to alleviate or
resolve distress caused by unpleasant feelings and maladaptive behavior.
According to Buddhist teachings, the natural process of the five
aggregates leads to an eventual condition of suffering that is linked to
a distorted view of the world and ourselves. The sutras describe five
aggregates (skhandas), namely:

1. Form or matter (rupa): The physical world and material body.

2. Sensation or feeling (vedana): Sensing an object as pleasant,
unpleasant, or neutral.

3. Perception or cognition (samnja): Registers whether an object is
recognized or not.

4. Mental formations, impulses, or volition (samskara): All types
of mental habits, thoughts, ideas, opinions, prejudices, compulsions,
and decisions that are triggered by an object.

5. Consciousness or discernment (vijnana): Rapidly changing,
interconnected, and discrete acts of cognizance that discern and support
all experience.

According to Buddhist literature, the aggregates arise in a linear
or progressive fashion, from form to feeling to perception to mental
formations to consciousness. Although it is within the realm of the five
aggregates that we attempt to define our self, our most basic premise of
the self as a permanent and controlling agent does not hold up under
scientific scrutiny. In mindfulness meditation, as a Buddhist or
therapeutic practice, a kind of non-elaborative, nonjudgmental,
present-centered awareness in which each thought, feeling, or sensation
that arises in the attentional field, is acknowledged and accepted as it
is (Bishop, Lau, Shapiro et al., 2004). Although Buddhism does not
distinguish between emotions and other mental processes, three cognitive
states are considered to be fundamental to a basic vulnerability to
suffering and pain that is attributed to a misinterpretation of reality,
namely craving, hatred, and a deluded impression of the self as a
reified object. The misconception seems to start when concepts of
permanence, singularity, and autonomy are imposed on an inaccurate
psychological construct of reality, when in fact the self is profoundly
interconnected with all other objects (Ekman, Davidson, Ricard, &
Wallace, 2005). By grasping onto the self, a craving for other objects
that are associated with advancement of the self is promulgated, all the
while anything that is deemed to be threatening the self-promotion is
rejected, hated, or feared. Hereby two inherent characteristics are
denied, namely the dynamic and contextual nature of all
things--including people and situations--and the nature of emotions
themselves. Emotions are merely the result of our core beliefs that have
developed from childhood based on our perception of our interaction with
the world and how it affects our needs. As such, our equilibrium is
disturbed and we are unable to recognize and respond appropriately to
the true nature of reality. The nature of emotions are invasive and
obtrusive and can easily influence the "battle" between reason
and feelings. It is a state of arousal that is unconsciously activated
by significance or value that we attach to something and initiate a
tendency to act in a certain way. When these affective reactions are
unpleasant and based on greed, hatred, or delusion, they form an
obstruction to the achievement of insight and balance. Even when the
conditions change, the personality structure and temperament of a person
is slow to change, thereby creating adjustive problems and impaired
mental health (De Silva, 1976). It is especially fear and anxiety that
interfere with our ability to recognize the nature of reality as an
impermanent and interconnected condition. Therefore, a process of
self-understanding, diligent self-analysis, insight, and development of
a new set of values are required to view emotions as they are and lose
their overwhelming grip on the self. "This is not a process of
repression by which you push them into a lower level of consciousness,
but a process by which understanding, insight, and mindfulness lead one
to control and restraint." (p. 12), and a new, balanced sense of
reality. This is the essential dimension of Buddhism that is
increasingly embraced by Western psychological practices, and
theoretical research is following to establish an evidence base in
support of the Buddhist principles. Already, psychological research have
presented plenty of evidence that mindfulness meditation, even simple
and brief exercises, is a very effective supplement to cognitive
behavioral psychotherapy methods, which indeed provide more clarity and
reduce suffering.

* Applying Buddhism to mode deactivation theory and practice

Mode Deactivation Therapy (MDT) is one such a psychotherapy
approach--a third wave therapy derived from cognitive behavioral
principles--that embraced the Buddhist essence. As such, feelings are
viewed as functional emotional states that are linked to coping
responses to environmental triggers which are impermanent and not a true
reflection of external reality or the self. Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, one of
the founders of mindfulness science, provided the landmark definition of
mindfulness as "paying attention in a particular way, on purpose,
in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally" (1994, p. 4). According
to Brown and Ryan (2004), mindfulness incorporates two core components,
namely (1) attention and awareness, and (2) acceptance. As a way to see
things as they really are, as a "bare display of what is taking
place" (p. 243) without judgment, mindfulness is providing an
unattached view and experience of emotions. Hereby, they are not any
more seen as defining us, as a permanent and unchanging millstone that
condemns us as slaves to our emotions.

The golden thread of acceptance, non-judgment, and un-attachment is
taken through the theory and practice of MDT, it is the crux at all
stages. Because MDT was developed as an adolescent therapy, mindfulness
practices and ingrained Buddhist concepts were adapted to fit the
abilities and disposition of the adolescent audience. According to the
developer Jack Apsche, there are "multiple paths to
mindfulness", and exercises and terminology were simplified to be
easy to follow and learn. Nevertheless, their underlying Buddhist
principles are very evident in all stages of the methodology and
required skill set of therapists. Brief mindfulness exercises are
conducted throughout the MDT program and these include focused
breathing, visual concentration, mindful walking, guided imagery, and
other non-threatening methods (Jennings, in press). As previously
mentioned, cognitive and emotional defusion are two essential processes
in MDT that aim to de-link the adolescent from his thoughts and feelings
by accepting his belief system as reasonable given his past experiences,
but rebuilding a new functional set of values. Similar to Buddhist
practices, the perception that the adolescent has of his emotions as a
permanent and defining part of himself, is discarded in MDT. He is
encouraged to observe and experience thoughts and feelings without
attachment and evaluation. Rather than avoiding unpleasant emotions,
they are accepted for their true nature--as subjective experiences that
are triggered by events that remind us of a similar significance in the
past. Although they are interlocked with our beliefs that involve
dispositions to act by engagement or avoidance, they are habits based on
perception-based appraisals of past events. In other words, we are
programmed to act in a way that we believe best suit our needs; and our
perception and interpretations are often fraught with inaccuracies and
untruths.

Therefore, we see that the theory and practice of MDT incorporate
Buddhist principles effectively to alleviate the distress of patients by
accepting and defusing their experiences from our imperfect construct of
reality. In the process, the perception of the permanence and defining
character of emotions is unravelled. Ultimately, the control and
expression of emotions are influenced by softening the boundaries
between the self and others as the positive motivational side of
emotions are better harnessed to encourage equanimity, kindness, and
compassion.

* Mindfulness exercise

We have seen that the core ingredients of the MDT methodology are
mindfulness and acceptance, which enable emotional and cognitive
defusion through the Validation, Clarification, and Redirection (vcr)
process. Mindfulness exercises are conducted to encourage and practice
an unfiltered and nonjudgmental acceptance of thoughts and feelings. The
following transcript is an example of such an exercise, which was
adapted from Eifert and Forsyth (2000, pp. 140-143):

First, I would like to ask your permission to do an experiential
exercise. Are you willing to do that? [Get the client's permission
and continue.]

Go ahead and get in a comfortable position in your chair.

Sit upright with your feet flat on the floor, your arms and legs
uncrossed, and your hands resting in your lap, palms up or
down--whichever is more comfortable.

Allow your eyes to close gently.

Take a few moments to get in touch with the movement of your breath
and your sensations in the body.

Bring your awareness to the physical sensations in your body,
especially to the sensations of touch or pressure where your body makes
contact with the chair or floor.

Now, slowly bring your attention to the gentle rising and falling
of your breath in your chest and belly.

Like ocean waves coming in, and out, your breath is always there.

Notice it's rhythm in your body.

Notice each breath.

Focus on each inhale.

And exhale.

Notice the changing patterns of sensations in your belly, as you
breathe in, and as you breathe out.

Take a few moments to feel the physical sensations as you breathe
in, and breathe out.

There is no need to try to control your breathing in any way;
simply let the breath breathe itself.

As best you can, also bring this attitude of generous allowing and
gentle acceptance to the rest of your experience.

There is nothing to be fixed; no particular state to be achieved.

As best you can, simply allow your experience to be your experience
without needing it to be other than what it is.

Sooner, or later, your mind will wander away from the breath to
other concerns, worries, images, bodily sensations, planning, or
daydreams.

Or it may just drift along ...

This is what minds do much of the time.

When you notice that your mind has wandered, gently congratulate
yourself.

You have come back and are once more aware of your experience.

You may want to acknowledge briefly where your mind has been.

Ah ... there's thinking ... or, there's feeling.

Then gently escort your attention back to the sensation of the
breath, coming in, and going out.

As best you ca, bring a quality of kindness and compassion to your
awareness, perhaps seeing the repeated wanderings of your mind as
opportunities to bring patience and gentle curiosity to your experience.

When you become aware of bodily sensations and feelings, tension
other than tense sensations in a particular part of your body, just
notice them, acknowledge their presence, and see if you can make space
for them.

Do not try to hold onto them or make them go away.

See if you can open your heart and make some room for the
discomfort, for the tension, for the anxiety; just allowing them to be
there.

Is there enough space in you to welcome all of your experience?

Watch the sensations change from moment to moment.

Sometimes they grow stronger.

Sometimes they stay the same.

And sometimes they grow weaker.

It does not matter.

Breathe calmly in to, and out from the sensations of discomfort;
imagining the breath moving in to, and out from that region of the body.

Remember: Your intention is not to make you feel better, but to get
better at feeling.

If you've ever notice that you're unable to focus on your
breathing, because of intense physical sensations of discomfort in your
body, let go of your focus on your breath and shift your focus to the
place of discomfort.

Gently direct your attention on and in to the discomfort, and stay
with it, no matter how bad it seems.

Take a look at it--what does it really feel like?

Again, see if you can make room for the discomfort and allow it to
be there.

Are you willing to be with whatever you have?

Along with physical sensations in your body, you may also notice
thoughts about the sensations, and thoughts about the thoughts.

You may notice your mind coming up with evaluative labels, such as
dangerous, or getting worse.

If that happens, you can thank your mind for the label.

And return to the present experience as it is, not as your mind
says it is; noticing thoughts as thoughts, physical sensations as
physical sensations, and feelings as feelings--nothing more, nothing
less.

To help you experience the difference between yourself, and your
thoughts and feelings, you can name thoughts and feelings as you notice
them

For instance: If you notice that you're worried, silently say
to yourself "worry, there is worry"; just observing worry and
not judging yourself for having these thoughts and feelings.

If you find yourself judging, just notice that, and call it
"judging, there is judging"; and observe that with the quality
of kindness and compassion.

You can do the same with other thoughts and feelings, and just name
them as planning, reminiscing, longing, or whatever you experience.

Label the thought and emotion, and move on.

Thoughts and feelings come and go in your mind and body.

You are not what those thoughts and feelings say, no matter how
persistent or intense they may be.

As this time for formal practice comes to an end, gradually widen
your attention to take in the sounds around you, notice your
surroundings, and slowly open your eyes with the intention to bring this
awareness to the present moment, and into the upcoming moments of the
day.

Notice how the exercise systematically progresses from physical
sensations and breathing to thoughts and feelings; how unforced the
observations are; and how the client is encouraged to observe all
emotions--pleasant and unpleasant--without restraint, to let them ebb
and flow naturally. This creates an awareness without attachment,
without the need to avoid unwanted thoughts and feelings, and without
the need to identify with them. Therefore, it is a very natural and
unconstrained way to experience the impermanence of each thought and
feeling without becoming overwhelmed by it.

* Discussion and implications

In the course of this article, several important conclusions were
supported by the principles and practice of Buddhism, psychotherapy, and
Mode Deactivation Therapy (MDT) in particular. Buddhism aims to
alleviate suffering and teach enlightening through mindfulness,
un-attachment of thoughts and emotions from the concept of the self, and
a sense that all things are impermanent and therefore not deserving of
craving or hatred. MDT embodies the same goals and principles by way of
mindfulness, acceptance, and cognitive and emotional defusion.
Therefore, a growing evidence base proves that Buddhism and
psychological science is compatible and that continued efforts are
worthwhile to model Buddhist concepts in psychological theory and
research, which could enable a richer understanding and synthesis of
effective change agents.

Apsche, J. A., & DiMeo, L. R. (2012). Mode Deactivation Therapy
for aggression and oppositional behavior in adolescents: An integrative
methodology using ACT, DBT, and CBT. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. This
book is the inaugural and definitive book on the theory, practice, and
evidence base of Mode Deactivation Therapy (MDT). MDT is an integrative
model of treatment for adolescents with behavioral problems that draws
from acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectical behavior therapy,
cognitive behavior therapy, mindfulness, and schema therapy. Research
that support the effectiveness of the conceptual model is included.

Joan Swart

Walden University

COPYRIGHT 2014 American Psychological Association, Inc.
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.